


Long Distance

by prouvairecateur



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Schönberg/Boublil, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-15
Updated: 2013-08-15
Packaged: 2017-12-23 13:16:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/926889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prouvairecateur/pseuds/prouvairecateur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It used to be sex, late night motorcycle rides through the park, trips to the museum, or heated political discussions. Now it’s Skype.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Long Distance

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of [this post](http://beaumarbre.tumblr.com/post/58197685606/combeferre-x-grantaire-modern-au-long-distance) for Combeferre/Grantaire week on tumblr.

Combeferre wrapped an arm around Grantaire, pulling him close as they laid together. They were both silent, not wanting to ruin their night together with thoughts of what would happen tomorrow. Grantaire ran a hand up Combeferre’s chest, tracing lazy patterns into the skin as he went. Hours could have passed without either of them noticing- they were too focused on memorizing how all of this felt, how it felt to be together.

 

Grantaire sighed and looked up to Combeferre, letting his hand come up to rest against the man’s jaw. “You sure you have to go?” the dark-haired man asked, reaching up to brush his lips against Combeferre’s jaw. “I mean there are plenty of good medical schools nearby that would kill to have a student like you in their program.”

 

“You want me to turn down a scholarship?” Combeferre asked, chuckling softly as he let his fingers trace through Grantaire’s hair. He sighed and pulled his glasses off, putting them and the book he had been reading on the table next to their bed. He used the arm he was holding Grantaire with to shift them so they were sitting on the bed facing each other. Grantaire would not look up at him- he just stared in his lap, trying his best to ignore the other man. “Grantaire. R, you know how big this opportunity is for me. I will be studying alongside the best of the best. I will be taking classes by some of the top professors in the world.” Grantaire could not help but smile at the enthusiasm in Combeferre’s voice.

 

He knew he sounded selfish, asking Combeferre not to leave, when this was all he had been talking about for the past few weeks. It was going to be hard to not have the young scholar by his side until his first break from studying. “I know, I know,” Grantaire murmured under his breath, looking up for the first time since Combeferre had started talking. He took a deep breath. “You are going to go and study your ass off, and I couldn’t be more proud of you.” Combeferre smiled brightly at Grantaire, leaning forward to give him a quick kiss. “I am going to miss you, though,” Grantaire whispered against the other man’s lips.

 

Combeferre pulled a few inches away to get a better look at his boyfriend. “I am going to miss you too. Who is going to spend the entire night with me arguing about whose philosophical principles are more valid.”

 

“If I remember the past year and a half correctly, that was most definitely not what we have been doing every night.” Grantaire smirked, letting his hands rub against Combeferre’s legs.

 

Combeferre rolled his eyes, taking Grantaire’s hands in his. “I am going to miss that too. And all those days we would spend around the city- visiting the local museums, riding around on your bike...” Combeferre trailed off, not wanting to dwell too much on such thoughts. “I am going to miss everything.”

 

They sat in silence for several long minutes, preoccupied with their thoughts. Every once in a while, their eyes would meet, and they would give each other half-hearted grins. Comebferre ran a finger across Grantaire’s wrist in what looked like an intricate pattern- he did not need to look down at his hand to know that he was tracing the tattoo almost perfectly.

 

The pair had spent many nights together like this, but never had they been so quiet. Grantaire was usually talking boisterously around his beer bottle, trying his best to pull Combeferre’s attention from his books. Eventually the student’s patience would wear thin, and they would find themselves in bed moments later, kissing frantically and peeling layers of clothes off each other.

 

This was different. Neither dared utter a word- they just let their eyes and hands wander over each other, taking in every detail they possibly could. When next their glances met, Combeferre tried to break the tension between them by pulling a funny face. Grantaire shook his head, smiling, as he ruffled his hair.

 

It was only brief seconds later that Grantaire opened his mouth again to speak. “I could go with yo-”

 

“No,” Combeferre snapped uncharacteristically, before he composed himself again, taking the man’s hand in both of his. “You have your music here. You can’t just leave all of that behind. I will be in the library or classes all the time, or at the hospital clocking hours- we would rarely see each other. Please don’t throw away everything you have worked so hard for.”

 

Grantaire shook his head. “There are studios and clubs in Boston. I could work my way into schedules over there.”

 

“Do you remember how long it took you to get where you are?” Combeferre watched the man questioningly as he mouthed something. “It took you ten months. And you know how I know that? Because I remember you coming home every night with your paycheck from the bar. Every time you vowed that once you got your break, you would never return to one of those dead-end jobs.” He laughed. “There is no way in hell I am letting you leave this all behind.”

 

Grantaire smiled at Combeferre. “You’re right,” he huffed, pouting jokingly.

 

“I know I am.”

 

Grantaire chuckled humorlessly, and then pushed Combeferre back against the bed, straddling the man’s waist. Combeferre looked up at him with wide eyes, watching as Grantaire crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ll be gone for what- four months?” Combeferre nodded slowly. The musician leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the corner of Combeferre’s mouth, dragging his lips over to the man’s ear. “Then we will need to make up for all that time we are going to lose,” he whispered.

 

Combeferre let out a shaky breath before asking, “What did you have in mind?”

 

~~~~~

Grantaire was sitting on their bed, guitar in hand, when his phone buzzed in his pocket. His face lit up when he saw Combeferre’s name lit up on the screen.

 

[text] Skype in ten? xx-C

 

The man nodded at his phone until he remembered that the man could not see him through the phone screen.

 

[text] ok. i have a surprise for you.- R

 

He set the phone down and quickly shuffled to the bathroom to check his appearance in the mirror. Grantaire was not one to fuss over how he looked, but this was the first time Combeferre would be seeing him in three weeks. He had been so caught up with midterms that they barely had a few minutes to talk on the phone every other night. Any other correspondence was via text messaging, making it exceedingly less personal.

 

The reflection staring back at him gave him a shock. His skin was much paler than usual, and it was accentuated by the heavy purple bruises under his eyes. At least my hair doesn’t look much worse than it usually does, he thought to himself, and raked a hand through the thick curls.

 

When he returned, his phone alerted him that he had three messages waiting, all from Combeferre.

 

[text] Can’t wait. xx

 

[text] I have been missing you so much.

 

[text] You ready?

 

Grantaire typed out a rushed reply before throwing his phone down to grab his laptop. The minute it had warmed up, a message popped up on the screen, letting him know that he had a call on the line. His heart threatened to burst from his chest as he opened the call, seeing Combeferre smile at him for the first time in so long. “Well, hello Dr. Combeferre.”

 

The man on the other line laughed happily. “Grantaire, how are you?” There was a bit of lag, so by the time Grantaire heard what he had said, Combeferre was already moving about on the screen, gesturing wildly about what he was learning at school.

 

It was a breath of fresh air, hearing Combeferre’s voice...seeing his face. The man looked as though he seemed to be enjoying himself well enough. He spoke of the professors he had worked with and the people he had made friends with. Several minutes were spent going on about the hours he spent each night, shadowing the doctors at the university hospital.

 

Grantaire smiled happily as he listened to everything. “Slow down, babe. You are starting to sound like Enjolras when he gets started.” Combeferre pushed his glasses back up onto his nose, muttering an apology. “Don’t be sorry, ‘Ferre. I am glad you are enjoying yourself.”

 

“I am.” Though it’s hard without you here with me, he thought but did not speak out loud. He knew the more he thought about it, the more appealing it seemed to have Grantaire living in Boston with him. He shook the ideas from his head, and sat back in his desk chair, taking a good look at Grantaire.

 

The man looked as though he severely lacked sleep...and proper sunlight. Nothing too unusual, but there was something in his eyes- he was upset, and he could not hide it the way Combeferre could. He never could. He cleared his throat, smiling brightly when Grantaire glanced up happily. “You uh, said you had a surprise for me?”

 

Grantaire nodded and jumped out of the view of the webcam, returning a minute later with his guitar and a sheet of crumpled paper. “I wrote something new- something for you,” he murmured excitedly, waving the piece of paper close to the camera. He settled the guitar onto his lap, setting the paper in front of him. Combeferre had taken his glasses off and was leaning forward in his chair, resting his chin in his hands. “I know what my voice does to you...try not to get too turned on,” Grantaire joked with a playful wink.

 

Combeferre rolled his eyes, but he laughed and quirked his lips. The musician shook his head and rolled his shoulders, adjusting the guitar to get a better grip. He shot one last glance up at Combeferre on the screen. Then Grantaire began to play.

 

The tune was slow and soft, almost like a lullabye. Grantaire played so effortlessly, routinely looking up to Combeferre and then back to the lyrics on the sheet. When he sang, a soothing calm washed over the medical student. Grantaire’s voice was sweetly haunting, making Combeferre wish he could be back home with him- he could imagine how wonderful Grantaire would sound without a dodgy computer speaker interfering. He could imagine it pretty well, considering they had spent many nights this way when they were home together.

 

The lyrics were what affected him most of all. Grantaire very rarely wrote a song by himself, often collaborating on pieces with their poetic friend, Prouvaire. It wasn’t hard for Combeferre to tell that this was all Grantaire- he had written this song entirely for him.

 

He sang of restless nights and long days, of empty sheets and silent rooms. Combeferre looked down, avoiding the gaze of the dark-haired man singing directly to the camera. They both knew how hard the separation was going to be, but Combeferre forgot just how hard it was for Grantaire, especially when he felt alone. Grantaire had always been so intense- he felt things much more deeply than others. And right now he felt alone.

 

Grantaire finished the song with a great flourish, the final note ringing clear throughout the small room. It was quickly replaced with silence, the two men simply staring at one another, waiting to see who would break the silence. “What is it called?” Combeferre asked quietly, struggling to keep his composure with Grantaire’s deep blue eyes staring back at him.

 

“Didn’t think about that yet,” Grantaire shrugged, looking at the guitar that was still sitting in his lap. “Maybe I could name it “Come Home Soon”?”

 

Grantaire looked back up at Combeferre, and the latter was surprised to see a smile on the other man’s face. Laughter soon sprang from both mouths, though it was hard to tell who had started it. The laughter lasted for a good two minutes before they both calmed themselves down. Again, they simply stared at each other, taking in as much as they could on their small computer screens. The silence reminded Combeferre of the night before he left, when they sat in their room together. This time, though, it was Combeferre who broke the silence.

 

“Med school is just a lot different. I wish you were here.”

 

“Well, you could just come home and stay in bed with me all day.”

 

“Don’t tempt me, R.”

  
“I miss you too, ‘Ferre.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr [here](http://antonzetterholrn.tumblr.com) .


End file.
